CHARLESTON, W.VA. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - West Virginia, Southern), published as received.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Moore Capito announced today that the Southern District of West Virginia collected $4,322,154.61 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2025. Of this amount, $2,400,940.61 was collected in criminal actions and $1,921,214.00 was collected in civil actions. 

Additionally, the Southern District of West Virginia worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $2,339,409.44 in cases pursued jointly by these offices. Of this amount, $3,082.92 was collected in criminal actions and $2,336,326.52 was collected in civil actions.      

“Public money is not a personal piggy bank, and crime has real victims. Whether it’s fraud, violence, or exploitation, we will use every civil and criminal tool available to hold offenders accountable,” Capito said. “Our mission is clear: protect taxpayer dollars, make victims whole, and ensure justice is done. I am incredibly proud of the tireless work of our attorneys and professional staff who fight every day to deliver those results.”

The collections include $451,237.51 in criminal restitution and a $451,237.51 civil penalty paid by Mark William Bailey, 53, of Beckley, after he pleaded guilty to theft of government monies. Bailey admitted to stealing COVID-19 relief loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The civil collections also include $1,207,600.00 from Horne LLP, of Ridgeland, Mississippi, to resolve civil allegations that it received improper payments from federal disaster recovery grant funds in connection with services it provided in 2017 and 2018 in West Virginia. Another $191,070 was paid by Thompson Construction Group Inc., of Sumter, South Carolina, to resolve civil allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act by submitting false claims for payment from federal disaster recovery grant funds and by falsely certifying that homes it had constructed were compliant with contract conditions. Both civil collections involve disaster recovery services provided in response to the severe and deadly flooding that struck parts of the Southern District of West Virginia in June 2016.

The collections also include $146,771.37 in criminal restitution and a $5,000 fine paid by Luther A. Hanson, 73, of Charleston, after he pleaded guilty to willful failure to pay over taxes. Hanson admitted that he willfully and intentionally did not withhold or pay employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for two employees of his accounting services businesses.

The civil collections in jointly pursued cases include $415,112.00 secured by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Southern District of West Virginia in a lawsuit alleging employment discrimination by Wal-Mart Stores East LP.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of West Virginia, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $1,264,871 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2025. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

 

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